Page 56 of Pleasure Payback

I surrendered because...because...

‘I’ll clear my schedule for France.’

Triumph blazed bright and unabashed in his eyes. He pulled me forward and I fell into his torrid kiss, unable to help myself. Hell, I more than fell. I drowned, clinging to him for what little stability I could find as he devoured me right there on my Norman Rockwell doorstep.

I was moaning when he lifted his head. ‘I’m dying to push my luck and ask you to invite me in but I’m going to quit while I’m ahead.’ He stepped back and handed over my tote. ‘Goodnight, Neve.’

I’d lost the power of speech, so I nodded.

He waited until I climbed my porch and unlocked my front door.

Then Damian walked away.

He’d left by the time I arrived in my office at eight a.m. I flatly refused to accommodate the spiky disappointment knotted in my gut as I sipped my coffee and perused my emails.

My foolish heart leapt when I saw one sent half an hour earlier from Damian.

Returning to the city to take care of a few urgent matters. The producers think two full days of shooting will wrap up Raiders so I’ve arranged for us to fly out to Bordeaux on Wednesday morning.

Clear your schedule for four days. Separate travel arrangements will be made for our business partners.

See you on Monday.

Damian

Straight. To the point. Yet I found myself rereading it, dissecting every word. Was there something to be gleaned from the way Damian kept referring to Sam and Tyler asourbusiness partners when in essence he was merely a consultant? And why did that word no longer grate as sharply?

Also...separate travel arrangements for them meant we would be alone, with no distractions for over eight hours... I slammed my laptop shut before the rush of giddiness storming my system could shame me.

But it was too late. I already craved him with a need bordering on rabid and an emptiness inside me I wasn’t sure just sex would fulfil.

The scary thought propelled me out of my office.

Tyler and Sam were at a table in the dining room enjoying their breakfast.

They looked up with expressions of anxiety and hope as I approached. Smiling, I put them out of their misery. ‘The demonstration was everything I hoped for. You did a brilliant job. I’m on board.’

A quick toast later, I outlined my vision.

It quickly became clear that Sam, although a design major, was more the brains of the business, while Tyler was the artistic heart.

His passion shone in his expression, his ideas effusive and robust. As a team, they were an excellent pairing and I concluded our meeting even more excited for the future.

‘Mr Mortimer wants us on a flight to France tonight with our team. We hit the ground running tomorrow,’ Tyler said.

I blinked. ‘But we won’t be in France till Wednesday night.’

‘He’s sending us the specs later but I get the feeling it’s more than one room,’ Sam said, unable to stem her excitement.

We parted ways shortly after, my intrigue building through the day. Many times I was tempted to call Damian, find out what he was up to. Instead I buried myself in work, thankful that I employed the kind of manager I could leave in charge with zero anxiety.

My heart was thumping wildly in my chest when I walked into theRaider’s Denproduction warehouse on Monday morning.

As usual, Damian was already in despite my arriving half an hour early. It was as if he couldn’t resist showing off. I tried to summon irritation and failed. Instead my gaze raked feverishly over him, and in a rush of surrender I accepted that I’d missed seeing him.

After a mere twenty-four hours...

Dear God.

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